Operation Granger
by Grey Tulip
Summary: Pansy is intent on playing a nasty prank on Hermione meddling with her feelings, but soon finds herself drawn in, too. Post-war, but still in Hogwarts for the seventh year. Hermione x Pansy
1. An idea

I swallowed nervously, before firmly clasping my bag and entering the train. It was the Hogwarts Express, a vehicle I had used to get to school for seven years. It should be no big deal, really, but it was. With all the fighting and the changes that had been going on because of the war and during Voldemort's reign, school life had been interrupted way too often to make last year count as a school year. Which was why they had cancelled the NEWTs that were scheduled for the end of the year, and we had to re-take the year if we wanted to get them. With the dirty glares I got, I just wished I already had them, or done it like my Slytherin peers and just stayed at home and not given a damn about the NEWTs.

'They really should award me honorary access to the Gryffindor rooms for this', I thought. I was the only one of the Slytherins of my year who had had the guts to return after the part our house had played during the war. A lot of the Slytherins who had family funds and such and were year four plus had decided to end their school career. It would be a tough year for me, I knew that. During the last years, it had always been a tolerance for Slytherin. The Gryffindors openly despised us and Hufflepuffs and Rawenclaws disliked the Slytherins, but in the end they always were okay with us enough to rather avoid us than fight us.

I could not count on that this time. After everything that had happened during the war, most of the students from the other houses would act hostile towards me. I would get the full load, too, as I was the only one and the others, like Draco or Millicent, had chickened out. For a moment I thought it would have been better for me to stay home, too, but if I did that, then I would not be able to become a researcher on magical cures for diseases like I wanted to. And I would be damned if I, Pansy Parkinson, would let a little bit of antipathy stop me from achieving my goal. I would get what I wanted, whether to others liked it or not!

I made my way to the prefects room. I was prefect again. I was sure that Director McGonagall, as she was now, would rather have had Peeves as prefect than me, but there simply was no alternative. This reached as far as I even would have to fulfill the duties of the male Slytherin prefect as well, as there was no one who could take the job. But as Slytherin was only half as many students as last year, that was not really a problem. I smirked as I thought of the face McGonagall must have made as she realized she had to make me prefect again. Drawback was, however, that I had to sit in the same cabin as the other female prefects of our year and the headgirl. It got no better when I realized the new headgirl was none other than the insufferable know-it-all mudblood Hermione Granger.

She looked at me incredulously. "You got quite some nerves, coming back after opting to give Harry to Voldemort last time we met, Parkinson", she sneered. He voice was cold and piercing, and she spat out my name with so much venom I barely avoided taking a step back to flee her wrath. But she had despised me in before, too, so it was not like this was something new.

"At least you gotta cut her some slack for not wimping out", Hannah Abbott said to Granger, but her tone was nearly as harsh as Granger's. I sat down, though I already knew it was going to be a long ride till Hogwarts. I cast a glimpse at Padma Patil, the last of the girls, but her face showed the same look of disgust as the other witches. But that was okay. I had never needed anyone else. And I had experienced just now once again that friends and fellows only stand by you as long as they need you. None of the other Slytherins was here to support me, after all. Nor was it like I gave a damn for what Hermione Granger thought of me. She was a mudblood, so she had no right to judge me. And though Padma and Hannah both had at least one decent parent, they were still no match for my noble ancestors.

So, instead of talking, I simply huffed and took out my arithmancy book. As I was not going to have a chat, I might as well start gaining a bit of a head start. When I had barely started reading, I overheard Granger indignantly saying to Abbott: "I really don't know how McGonagall could reappoint Parkinson, of all, after everything she has said before the battle." I know what she was talking about. After all, I had been the one who had, clearly audible for everyone, demanded Harry Potter should be handed to Voldemort. To be frank, it was not something I had enjoyed doing, and had Voldemort won I still would not be proud of it. Even a half-blood and muggle friend like Potter did not deserve to die just because he was in the way. Not even that insufferable mudblood Granger. Nobody did deserve the treatment Voldemort had given his foes or the muggles he happened to get his filthy hands on. Why I had done it? I had been scared, as plain and simple as that. I could have died, and everybody else would have, too, for supporting Potter, and it had been the far more likely outcome. Not to mention my own parents had been among the death eaters. Everywhere it had gotten them was Azkaban. I had simply feared his wrath. I would rather die, though, than admit that to anyone. And most certainly not to Granger.

"I heard there was not that much choice this year", Abbott answered. "I wouldn't be surprised if she's the only female Slytherin in our year."

"Honestly?", Granger said, sounding more surprised than, as I had thought she would, delighted.

I could not suppress the urge to comment on that. "All the less competitors. I would've liked to see the look on McGonagall's face, though, when she realized she had to make me prefect again." I chuckled slightly. For a moment Granger's lips curved up, too, before she noticed it was actually something I had said she was laughing about. She quickly replaced her smile with a frown, but I had seen it already. It was not like her opinion meant much to me, but it was still nice to see that I could even make people smile that definitely did not like me. Maybe I should try to woo her. It would be a nice challenge for a change, playing out my seductress charms on someone who had no intention of falling for me, was, for all I knew, straight, and even had a boyfriend . I would not want anything from her, I did not even like girls that way, but I still could charm her, make her fall for me, and then leave her bleeding and that blood traitor Weasley, too. She would leave him for me, and then I would leave her.

I had a hard time now to keep the scheming look of my face, but inside I already contemplated on a way to start what I had mentally called "Operation Granger". Maybe some letters would do the trick. She was curious, so she would be interested easily, and when she was, I would catch her like a fish in the net. What reason I had for this? None, but it would be interesting to see how she would cope with it. It was a nice distraction from school. You may ask if I was mental, but really I was not. I was just bored.

H/P

The sorting hat had sent a good amount of students to Slytherin this year. As I was the only Slytherin prefect this year I had the job of leading them out of the hall and to the Slytherin dorm. Next to me were Granger and Weasley leading the new Gryffindors out of the hall. They were holding hands. I could not refrain from making a snide remark.

"Hey, Granger, never thought you could step so low as to be with that dimwit Weasley." It was a low approach, granted, but it worked. Though she scowled at me and seemingly ignored me, she had taken her hand out of his self-consciously. So she was not as totally into him as everyone thought she was when attacking her on her most vulnerable level, her wits. (Those were things you just learned about someone when despising them for a long time and always looking for the best ways to taunt them.) So I had something to start at. While leading the new Slytherins to their quarters I already contemplated what to put in my first letter.


	2. Building the trap

I was in the same dorm as last year, but as I now was the only girl from Slytherin in our year, I had it all to myself. It made things a lot easier for my plan, as all I had to do was write the letters, there was no necessity to hide them from the others. I had already put my things away, this also being a lot easier as I had all the space I needed. Though, being the silver girl, there had never been one who had had the guts, or rather been stupid enough, to occupy space I may need. I may not have been the best witch in our year, that was one Hermione Granger, but, other than me, she was not lazy. My skills may not exactly have been enough to rival hers, but it was a close call.

So I sat down at the desk that stood in one corner of the dorm, and started to execute my plan. I put my quill in the ink pot, then back on the parchment, and started to write.

_Dear Hermione,_

I had contemplated a moment about the greeting, then decided to use a common one and her first name, given the fact there were few people who used her surname and she would easily find out I wrote the letter. I bit my quill trying to find a good way to continue. It took several minutes till I did.

_I am writing to you to tell you you deserve better. Ron may be a nice guy _

I inwardly shuddered. I would never say something like this otherwise, but if I said he was a prick she would not listen.

_but he is not made for you. Do you really love him in a way you would want to wake up to him every morning? Live in a house just the two of you, only you and him? Can you be by his side without feeling bored one day and wishing you were somewhere else? Who is he to you? A lover, or a friend? If he is a friend, you have to end it. You do not date a friend for convenience, it destroys the friendship. You have to know whether you want to love him as more than a friend. Whether you even can love him as more than a friend. I am fairly certain you cannot, but that is up to you to decide. But remember what you lose if you make a wrong decision. I would like to know you better myself, but what I said above is born out of concern, not egoism._

Difficult to find a more shameless lie.

_Please think about it._

_A secret admirer_

Corny, but I could not think of a better title. It was good in some way, too, as she certainly would not expect that from me. I grinned, and after a few flicks of my wand the parchment, now in form of a robin, made its way to Granger. Stage one completed. Now all I could do was wait for the results.

H/P

**Hermione**

I was just on my way to the library, the only place I had some privacy without anyone else looking over my shoulder (I loved my friends and roommates, but they became a little bit much to handle for me from time to time) when suddenly a little bird made of parchment landed on my left shoulder and looked at me expectantly. I was surprised. There were certainly not that many people in Hogwarts who were able to pull off such a spell. My curiosity was piqued, but I resolved not to read the letter before I had found a quiet corner of the library to read it in silence and without someone to interrupt me.

Two minutes later, I had settled in a comfortable living chair in a far off nook of the library, took out my books and then grabbed the bird from my shoulder. The moment I touched it, it became a sheet of parchment again. I was once again impressed by the skill the one who made it obviously possessed. My fondness of the writer vanished the moment I started reading. Ron and I, not made for each other? Ridiculous! Where did that guy even get that idea from? Of course I want him by my side the rest of my life. I huffed at the name with which the writer had signed his letter. A secret admirer. There were some after the war was finished who were interested. For all I knew most of them were just interested in getting in my pants, and the rest worshipped me for being Harry's companion in defeating Voldemort. It was annoying me to no end, but I could hardly tell some second years to piss off. I did so with the older ones, though. I did not believe a single thing about anything the letter said.. Certainly not that it was solely out of concern, not out of egoism, that I got this letter.

I sighed. That was just my luck. I came back to school after a war, and the first thing I had to deal with was a "secret admirer". Who did not even know what he was writing about. After all, it was way too early in our relationship to think about waking up in the same bed. It was perfectly natural to feel uncomfortable about that right now, was is not? And of course I had never thought about living with him or marrying him, that was something to think about for the future, but certainly not now. I stuffed the parchment in the back of my bag and pulled my books out. I had some work to do, but no matter how much I tried, that damn parchment slipped back into my mind, along with a whispering voice that asked persistently whether there was not something about what the parchment read that was very much true. It was extremely unnerving really.

H/P

It was already a week ago by that I had received that goddamn letter, and it was destroying me. I knew I really should not even dare to believe what the letter said could be true, but somehow I could not stop it. I was growing irritable, especially concerning Ron, and I knew he had done nothing to deserve it, but I could not stop it. After once more yelling at him for no apparent reason I came to the conclusion that there was only one way to end this whole nonsense without me bashing Ron anymore.

At lunch, I kept an eye open looking for Ginny. I could have asked Harry, too, but I was not sure how much guys acted and felt the same way as girls on such things, and to be frank it felt a little odd to talk to Harry about those problems. He was my best friend and all, but still. I would rather confide in a girl on this. I let out a sigh of relief when I saw Ginny. Now I could finally get rid of this odd situation. She would tell me she had never thought about it either, and I would know it was perfectly normal, so I could forget about the letter. I waved at her, and beckoned her over with a brisk movement of my hand. She raised her eyebrow at that, but came over and sat down next to me with a smile.

"Hey 'Mione. I suppose you did not ask me over for a chat, but for something more serious?", she questioned me. Usually, if we wanted to chat, we did that rather in the common room after classes that in the great hall during lunch, so it was quite clear I had something more pressuring to talk about.

"Yes. No. Well, I have some questions I wanted to ask you", I began rather timidly. Ginny nodded at me encouragingly. "Have you ever thought about waking up next to Harry in the mornings?" I had a hard time to keep my voice level and to avoid blushing. Alas Ginny did not know what was coming and blushed fiercely, but still managed to mumble an embarrassed:

"Yes, many times." It was not exactly the answer I had hoped for, but still I was glad she was willing to answer such awkward questions for me.

"Since when?", I pried. She was definitely uncomfortable with this line of question and I hated to embarrass her, but I needed to know some more.

She fiddled with her napkin, her gaze downward. "Since the day we got together, more or less. A little bit in before already." I had hoped she would say it took some time, but this was anything but. I could not help but think once again maybe the letter was right and I saw Ron only as a friend, nothing more. "Why are you asking?" Now it was Ginny's turn to pry.

"I'll tell you in a moment. Just one more question in before", I answered. "Have you ever thought about what it would be like, you and Harry living together?"

A dreamy look spread across her face, and she nodded. "It would be marvelous, I am certain", she said. I could see she was serious. "Now shoot, what is the reason for this?"

"Well, I don't", I said, as if that was an answer to her question. "I never thought about those things, and the thought is, frankly, rather frightening than pleasing to me. To answer the obvious question, how I came to think about it: This", I pulled the letter out of my bag "reached me about a week ago." I handed it to Ginny who read it. With every second the frown on her face grew.

"This is outrageous! How dare that "admirer" say something like that!", she seethed.

I nodded. "That's what I thought at first, too. But lately I came to think there might be some truth about it. What if he is right and Ron really is nothing but a friend to me?" I grew nervous when she looked at me like I was crazy, but after a moment's hesitation, her face softened.

"You gotta know what you want for your future, 'Mione. If it is with or without Ron is something you gotta decide yourself." She smiled at me encouragingly. "Whatever you do, it'll be just fine. But decide before it is too late." I knew she wanted me to stay with Ron, so I was even gladder she was willing to let me decide on my own what was best.

"Thanks, Gin", I said smiling, and hugged her gratefully.


	3. Setting the trap

**Pansy**

Granger was very irritable at school the next few days. I would not have connected it with the letter had it not been Weasley who was her main punching bag. Whether it was directly caused by the letter or whether it was simply something that had happened anyways, it was a sign for me to go on and to write the next letter. During lunch a week after I sent the letter I saw her talking to Weasley's sister. I casually passed the two of them while exiting the hall.

"… ever thought about what it would be like, you and Harry living together?", I heard Granger say while walking by. So she had thought about the questions I had put on the parchment. I inwardly grinned. Everything was going well. To top off my feeling of satisfaction, I saw Weasley going out of the hall the same time by himself.

"What's the matter, weasel, lost your girlfriend?", I mocked.

"Fuck off, Parkinson", he spat.

"Poor guy, all on your own…" I had decided to taunt him further. Suddenly, he had his wand pointed at me while muttering a spell. All I could do was put up a classic defensive wall charm, but luckily he had had no time to think of a more sophisticated spell either, so it blocked his hex easily.

"Weasley", McGonagall's voice came over from the teacher's desk. Everyone in the hall was now looking at us. "I am very disappointed of you. 30 points from Gryffindor. Come over here."

"Have fun, weasel", I said as goodbye, and exited the hall. I could feel his glare piercing my back, but I did not care in the slightest.

When I reached my dorm I was in the best of moods. I had just had put Ron Weasley into trouble, and my plan was going well so far. Time to send the second letter.

_Dear Hermione,_

I began in the same stile as last time.

_I see you are still thinking about what I wrote. I am glad I was able to give you a little nudge in the right direction. You got to decide one day, you know that, but I will be patient. Take all the time you need. Should you decide to break things off with Ron and are interested in a blind date, just write your answer on this parchment and use the "relinquo" spell on it, it will come back to me so I can tell you where to meet me._

_Your secret admirer_

Somehow, the letter lacked something personal, so I decided to show her I was not totally ignorant concerning muggle arts, either.

_PS: Hope you liked the music._

After a few spells, the parchment robin was in the air once again. I watched it fly away with a smirk and leant back in my chair. Once again, my task was to wait.

**Hermione**

The parchment robin appeared again when I was sitting in the common room the same day I talked to Ginny. It sat down on my shoulder while I was studying for Defense against the Dark Arts. I did not notice it at first, until it started singing. "The spring" from Vivaldi's "Four seasons". So whoever it was had some knowledge of at least muggle music, and quite some taste, too. I closed my eyes, and listened to the music. When I opened them again once the music had stopped, I could see everyone in the common room staring at me.

"A little gift from a friend", I said, as casually as possible. I seemed to be convincing, for most of the others bought it. Only Harry and Ginny were still looking at me, Harry suspiciously, Ginny knowingly. I was just glad Ron was not here. He was still serving detention for attacking Parkinson in the great hall. I had no idea what she could have said to enrage him enough to attack her in front of the teachers.

Ginny waved Harry away and came over to join me.

"Now", she said in a low voice so no one would think we were hiding something, but no one could overhear us, either, "what is your "secret admirer" writing this time?" I took the bird from my shoulder and once again, it started to unfold. Quite confident he was.

"You have to give it to him, that guy has balls", Ginny, who had been reading over my shoulder, giggled. I certainly agreed with her on that. "You're gonna take him up on that?"

"Certainly not!", I said. "What gives you that idea?"

She grinned cheekily. "Oh, I know you will. you're far too curious to let this slip until you know who he is." And she was right. I would write back and agree to meet him, just to find out who he was. And, I had to admit, the guy interested me.

H/P

I decided then and there that whoever wrote the letters was right about me and Ron. It just felt wrong to kiss him, wrong in a way I cannot explain why, but it did. And it was true just as well that if I continued this even if it felt wrong, the only way it could end was in us both feeling hurt. That was not such a brilliant perspective for the future, and if I ended our relationship right here I might be able to minimize the damage it would do. So the next day after the last class, I pulled Ron around the next corner. He seemed to misinterpret this because he tried to kiss me, but I turned my head to the side.

"We need to talk." The words everyone in a relationship dreaded. Ron however seemed perfectly oblivious.

"What about? Spill it!" He was not going to make this any easier for me.

"Ron…" There really was not gentle way to break this to him. "We're over."

Finally, something like realization dawned to him. "Over? As in: We are no longer an item?" I nodded.

"I am sorry, Ron. You will always be my friend, but never anything more. I wanted to believe we could be more, that I love you, and I know that I do, but I also know that I love you like a friend, not like my boyfriend." An awkward tension filled the room, then Ron said, rather helplessly:

"You have to know what is right for you. It is okay, really." Looking at him, I could see it was not, but there was not a lot I could do to change that. It would eventually be okay in the future, though.

"So", I said, both to ease the awkward tension in the room and because I really had not heard that story in before "what did Parkinson do to make you lose your temper like that?"

He gave a dry, hollow chuckle. "She asked me whether I had lost my girlfriend. Seems like there is actually someone in this school who has the sight, as Trelawney for sure has not." I turned red. Great, I thought, out of the frying pan and into the fire. I certainly had not intended to hurt him by saying something that reminded him of our break up. I should better leave until I could make things even worse.

"Well, I'd better leave now, bye", I muttered as a quick goodbye towards Ron, before I hastened down the corridor. It had been awkward, sure. Still, he had not flown of the handle, tried to convince me I was wrong or something along the lines of that, so I guess I should be happy. It could have been way worse.

H/P

Back in my dorm, my first thought was on whether to respond to the letter I got or not. It was irrational, given the fact I had just broken up with Ron. I guess I needed the distraction. I did not want to think about my failed relationship with him directly after the break up. I would have to later, and I knew I would, because that was the only way to save our friendship. Right now, however, I just wanted to get my mind off it. So instead, I thought about the letter. The invitation to meet the mysterious writer was both tempting and appalling. There was, of course, as Ginny had mentioned, my curiosity. I wanted to find out who he was. It already irked me to no end that I had not found out yet. I could not place the stile with someone, though I had tried. The letters were nice, sure, but there a certain kind of creepiness to meeting someone you possibly did not know that well, and who had not asked you face to face for whatever reason. It was a behavior that, under some circumstances, was rather stalkerish. Still, after the break up I was interested in meeting him with the purpose to get to know him simply to start something new and get over the whole Ron episode as quick as possible. And if he really was as nice as the letters let on, maybe I really could be with him?

Two to one. In the end, it was my curiosity that made me decide to write back, for I knew I would never forgive myself if I could not solve this riddle, but that was where I would end up at if I would not take the offer. So I picked up my quill and took the parchment out of my back to write my answer under the letter.

_Dear Anonymous,_

_I broke things off with Ron recently, and as your letters were quite enjoyable so far I am not opposed to meeting you._

_Hermione_

Usually, short was not so much my style, but at the moment it seemed sufficient. After all, all that was queried was whether I would say yes or no.

"Relinquo", I whispered while pointing my wand at the parchment. It folded itself again, and, in the form of the robin it had already been once before, took off down the hallway to its destination, wherever that was. I sat back. Now all I was waiting for was a place and a time.


	4. A little bit of seduction

**Pansy**

I was in the owlery delivering a letter to my grandparents informing them my grades were good and that I had not built up any amiable connections towards mudbloods. I was personally thinking my parents were exaggerating a bit. They had wanted that confirmation every month since I got to Hogwarts. Since they were in Azkaban that letter went to my grandparents. Though I shared their opinion on mudbloods to a great part, that was a bit over the top. Hearing their words, you would think befriending one of them would kill me or something.

While I was thinking about my parents quirks, the little parchment robin I had made flew in and sat down on the open palm of my left hand. I got an answer from Granger. I smiled when I read the answer was a yes. Now all that was left for me to do was convincing her she was at least bi, and then reel her in. Not the easiest task, I knew, but as I have said earlier I liked a good challenge every now and then.

Before I could make a move, however, I had to get her to know me better. Right now, when all she saw me as was the stuck up pureblood bitch, she would outright refuse me, regardless of her sexual orientation.

H/P

I got an opportunity earlier than I had expected. Slughorn had decided to start a potions project including both work in the lessons, but also essays and such we had to work on for homework. He had chosen the pairings and matched me with Granger, saying that he knew we were not exactly good friends but both way too determined to let something as trivial as animosity get in the way of our work. For her it was true, I was sure of that. As for me, I was determined to get her to like me, to carry out my plan.

**Hermione**

Live just was no fair. Why on earth did I have to be pared up with Pansy Parkinson, of all people? Well, like Slughorn implied, I was most likely the only one who was capable of dealing with her.

"Seems like we're in it together, Granger", Parkinson said, without, as I noticed surprised, any hint of a sneer in her voice. She was simply stating a fact.

"Looks like it", I mumbled. I looked at our worksheet. Okay, so a love potion first, one of the potions I personally disliked most as they made one go completely crazy even with someone you normally would not even look at. We needed an antidote, too, which was important as we had to test the potion on either me or Parkinson.

"I'll get the ingredients", she said, again surprising me with her lack of hostility. Maybe, if she really was able to go on like this, this won't be as bad as I had thought it was.

At least for the first day it was not so bad. She was nice to me (which, with Parkinson, meant she was not taunting me all the time) and we actually worked a perfect as a team. I was surprised to find out she was actually quite good at potions, and rather clever. I had never noticed this fact in before, but I presumed she had simply been lazy.

How it would turn out to be working together outside the classroom where no one was going to watch whether she did something or if I did all the work by myself was a different matter entirely. I already started to dread that. I was sure by now she was going to play the nice girl during lessons and just continue being a bitch outside it. It made sense she would.

H/P

To say I was surprised would be a severe understatement. I was completely baffled. Parkinson and I had worked on our potions homework together as we were supposed to. No snide remarks, no bitching, not ever bickering. She was so nice to me it was almost scary. What scared me even more was that I rather missed the more feisty Pansy Parkinson. Just Pansy, I reminded myself. Another odd thing. She had asked me to use first names. I almost believed she really wanted to change, but then I remembered how she had treated Ron a few day ago. If she wanted to change, she would have been nice to him back then. However it seemed she tried to be at least nicer to me. She had only once insulted me this year yet, and even then it was rather against Ron than me. I had no idea what to make of this. I was still sure she had an ulterior motive for her behavior, but I could not figure out what the reason could be for the life of it and that irked me. It irked me to no end. It was like racing into a blind curve at 120: I had no idea if something would come and hit me, and if so, what. But she was acting odd, and I would find out the reason for that.

H/P

When I went up to lie down in my bed in the evening, the first thing I saw was the little parchment robin sitting on the blanket. I took it in my hands, and the familiar change happened; the bird became a sheet of parchment.

This time, the message was short and to the point:

_If you are still interested, be at the divination room at curfew tomorrow_

_YSA_

Why had it to be past curfew? I would probably for the first time risk detention, which I most certainly would not want. But I was way too curious to just let this slip. So I would sneak away past curfew and meet my "secret admirer" at the divination classroom. Maybe I could take Harry's coat, just that I had no idea what to say to him as a reason. I could probably find some excuse. I would think about that later. Now I would have to get some sleep.

My dreams were filled with Cormac McLaggen admitting his undying love towards me, Pansy Parkinson plotting on how to destroy my potions essay, Ron trying to get me back (in which he would not succeed) and a little parchment robin shooting up and down the hallways. It was sufficient to say that I was not really rested when I woke up the next morning, which resulted in me being grumpy. It got no better when Ron proved part of my dream right when he took me to the side to ask me if I would not at least give us a second chance. Of course I said no. I had given our break up enough thought in before. It was just inevitable. I just hoped Ron would see that soon, too, as it was blocking our way back to friendship if he still tried to revive our relationship.

H/P

The mystery Pansy stayed one for today. She really seemed determined to be nice to me still and even was nice to my friends. I could not wrap my mind around it, it was simply odd. Maybe she had realized that she should look for friends rather in the other houses, as she was the only Slytherin in our year now. Yet why she concentrated on me I had no idea. After all, she had been my nemesis for years. All I could do about it was wait till I found a reason.

H/P

Sneaking out past curfew was not as much of a problem as I had thought it would be. Harry had been so kind as to loan me his coat even if I chickened out on the explanation, and I had been able to get to the divination classroom without further ado. But when I got in, no one was there. I was already wondering whether all of this had been a bad joke, but then the room grew completely dark. It was this powder George sold in his shop. I could not see my hand in front of my eyes. I drew my wand. Maybe this was some a trap by death eater who had set his mind on revenge?

"Don't worry", a voice rung out of the darkness. It was monotone and sounded almost mechanical. It had to be magically modified. "I don't wanna hurt you." I lowered my wand a bit, but stayed alert as steps moved closer to me. My ears seemed to be off, too, because I did not realize that when they stopped, the person already stood in front of me. So it took me completely by surprise when two small, soft hands touched my cheeks and I felt a pair of lips brush against my own. I just stood in a daze, my instincts willing me respond to the kiss. Whoever he was, he was a good kisser.

Suddenly, the kiss broke off, and, I was absolutely sure though I could see nothing, with a wink and the words "See you soon" my "secret admirer" was gone. I stood in a daze for a while, before feeling my way to the door still completely confused and , putting Harry's cloak back on, slipped back to my dorm, trying to progress what had happened. Only then it dawned me I still had no idea who this "secret admirer" actually was.


	5. Who?

I could not sleep. The same scene was replaying in my mind over and over again. I still had no idea whether to be angry, surprised, delighted, amused, or a bit of everything. Mostly I was confused. It was nice to be appreciated, sure, but on the other hand… how dare that guy just kiss me like that! He had not even asked my permission or at least hinted at what he was about to do. And I still did not even know who it was. It could have been anyone.

No what did I know? A guy with small, soft hands, so no one of the sporty kind. Probably a bookworm, same as me. No hard worker either, at least physically. I knew his writing, not a very neat one, but readable and broad. Knew a bit about muggles, so rather a muggleborn or half- than a pureblood. Though the hands pointed to someone who was used to having things done for him or doing them magically, so rather a pureblood. I searched my mind for other keys, anything that hinted at who he was, but I found nothing. Instead I found myself once again frustrated by that guy. I wanted to know who he was, why he did the things he did. In lack of a better idea I decided to have a close look at hands and writing of every guy where I had a chance to get a look at it. Maybe that would get me somewhere.

When I walked down to the great hall to eat breakfast, I met Pansy in the door. She smiled at me. It took me a moment before I could smile back. I still was not used to her being nice to me.

I walked on into the hall and sat down next to Ginny at the Gryffindor table.

"So, how was your date?", she asked curiously. Of course I had told her I went.

I heaved a sigh. "It was not a date. And I honestly don't know what to make of it", I said. "Not even to mention I still have no idea who he is." I then told her everything that had aspired yesterday. "But I am determined to find out who he is. Can you help me by having a look at the handwriting of the guys in your year? I can look out in the classes I take, but I won't be able to do so in your year." She nodded. Sure she would help me. I smiled. It was nice to know that Ginny would support me in this scavenger hunt.

H/P

During the upcoming week, I tried my best to get a grip on the mysterious writer of the letters. It was not simple curiosity anymore that drove me on, but that somebody obviously tried to outsmart me. And I would not just take that. So I had to get him. Alas, I still was no further at the end of the week. Neither I nor Ginny had been able to find a guy with the correct handwriting, and I hardly had any other hints. Sure I could put some aside because they had big or callused hands, or because they had not even heard of Vivaldi in before. I had actually asked some about it, and most of the purebloods had absolutely no idea of muggle music, while the writer seemingly had, though it may have been he had looked up on it, too.

Just when I was about to give up, another letter reached me:

_Dear Hermione,_

_I see you are still trying to find out who I am, or are you not? As you still have made no move to talk to me I take it you have not found out who I am. If you want a hint wait for me at the northern shore of the lake tomorrow at three. As soon as you are there, I will lead you to somewhere we can meet undisturbed._

_Your secret admirer_

_PS: I magically altered my handwriting, so looking for it will not help you._

Of course he had altered it, I should have known. So I had no hope of finding him with as little means as I had. Now the question was clear, and it was once again the same: go meet him, or not. It was the only chance to find out his identity He would not show himself to me, I knew that much. He was just going to give me a hint, nothing more. After he had kissed me without asking my permission last time, I was not sure whether I wanted to meet him again. But the internal discussion was a rather short one. At first it had simply been my curiosity, but now my competitive nature had awoken, too, so I was going to find out who he was, no matter the cost.

H/P

The next day at three I was in the north of the lake, waiting for the writer to arrive once more. Instead of himself, the little parchment robin I had seen so often appeared. It flew around my head in a few circles, before it continued on into the woods of the forbidden forest, at a pace slow enough for me to follow it.

Soon I reached a clearing and the bird went up in flames. I had reached my destination. I turned around, but saw nobody. And just a moment later, I was once again enveloped by darkness, and two, as I noticed, rather small hands grabbed mine from behind. A moment later, the arms moved around my waist and pulled me close to the small body behind me. A pair of firm, round breasts pressed into my back. I tensed. What on earth was going on here? Was this some kind of joke after all? It had seemed terribly serious to just be a prank she had pulled off on me. Seemed as if I had a female admirer.

"I never said I was a guy, did I?", a voice whispered into my ear, thus stating the obvious, then, planting a small kiss on my earlobe, she was gone. I stood in the darkness, dazed, my mind racing a mile a minute. So my "secret admirer" was a girl. I felt incredibly stupid now for not even having counted in this option in beforehand. So what did I know about her? She was a little bit taller than me, had soft hands and about B cup breasts. That was all the facts I had, but it was enough to eliminate a lot of girls who were too tall, whose hands were too callused, or who had the wrong size of boobs.

'Here I am, standing in the middle of the forbidden forest in the darkness, thinking about the size my peers tits have' I thought sarcastically. It had some almost comically aspect to it. I would keep a close eye on signs from any girl the next days, something to show some kind of romantic affection towards me, some odd reactions, changes. It would not be easy, as I was better at reading a book than somebody's emotions, but I would solve this riddle!

Shaking myself out of the thoughtful haze I was in, I waited patiently for the darkness to wear off, then made my way back to the castle. Everything else would have to wait till later.


	6. Search

_First, thanks to everyone for their encouragement and both help and praise, especially to ScottOrKaze: "One of my favorite Pansy/Granger stories. The tension is killing me and I can't wait for each update. Totally fantastic, I'd love to read more :)". What more can I say to that? I just hope I can continue to live up to it. To bodsquad: I doubt Hermione can see it that way, though, as being caught at such is even more embarrassing for a supposedly straight girl than a man._

**Pansy**

Had I really just thought Granger was not that bad a girl, even being a mudblood and a know it all? All this time among non-Slytherins during classes had really made me soft. And now I was stuck with her in this goddamn potions project and I could not even tease her as this would have destroyed my original plan of being nice to her, which, after some time, she actually seemed to buy. But maybe a bit was still allowed, and the opportunity was just too good to pass out on. After all, it was the first time ever I had seen Hermione so distracted that she actually managed to fuck up a potion.

"The mighty Hermione Granger has failed a potion? Lost your ability, oh great one?", I asked her mockingly.

"Oh shut up Pansy", she mumbled huffily. "I was simply a bit distracted, that's all."

I gave her a sly grin. "Who is it?"

She blushed furiously at that question and averted her eyes. "No one", she said crossly, but her whole reaction betrayed her. I could not help but feel pleased with myself. While I had not made her love me with my letters and secret meetings (after all she had no idea I was the one behind this) it was obvious they affected her in some way. Maybe it was time to try go on to the next step soon and show myself, as long as she did not guess my identity until then, that was. I could see she was already trying to: she was eying my breasts. I knew she was doing this in order to find out who the author of the letters was, but yet again this was an opportunity I could not pass up on, especially as I was sure she would get all flustered and be incredibly embarrassed. After all, I simply loved to mess with people's minds.

"I never knew you swung that way, Hermione", I remarked off-handedly, but at the same time gauging her reaction carefully.

She blushed darkly at being caught, but got a grip on herself faster than I expected her to. "I… I don't know what you're talking about", she said hesitantly.

I smirked. "Oh, you do know very well what I am talking about", I hesitated for a moment, adding a dramatic pause. "You were staring at my tits."

"I was not!", she said, but too quickly, too determined to be believable. "Can we go back to studying now?", she snapped crossly, glaring at me. I simply grinned.

**Hermione**

Three days had gone by by now, and I had already made a list of girls that fit what I knew about my "secret admirer". The only problem was: The list was huge, and it grew with every day I looked around more. And it only included girls from inside Hogwarts, as I had decided that anybody else would have had to get a problem to just appear on the grounds. So I was not really further. What I knew was still way to vague. And now that I looked at girls a lot, there were already rumors spreading. Ginny talked to me that evening, asking me whether I wanted to tell her something. I told her about the last encounter with the mysterious stranger.

"Doesn't mean you have to stare at Parvati's chest every two minutes when being near her. I am not the only one who notices after all. And you should have crossed her out long ago, shouldn't you?" I blushed. Truth was, I was for some strange reason rather intrigued by some of the girl's figures. There was just something about them I had not noticed before. It was merely a curious interest, of course, but still. After another moment I realized something else that went along with this; people would not know the connection between my search and why I looked at other girls. They would jump into conclusions.

I groaned. I really did not want all of the school thinking I was lesbian when really I was not. But acting normal would put a stop to me achieving my goal of finding out who the writer was, and that was by now already a full blown challenge to me. Someone had dared to make me prove myself, and I was not going to just let that pass by. I had to somehow manage to be more discreet than I previously had been. I hesitated. I really did not want to hear the answer to my next question.

"But there haven't been that many who noticed, surely?", I asked, though I already knew the answer.

"Hermione", she turned to me "Ron has noticed." It was not like she had to say anything more. He was not the most perceptive, after all.

"So everyone in the school thinks I'm lesbian now?" 'Come on', I urged my mind on 'You're Hermione Granger, since when do you care what others think?' But as much as I tried to convince myself I did not care, it still discouraged me.

H/P

As I had predicted, I received quite some stares over the next time. Some hostile, but most rather curious, and some girls, as I noticed with surprise, even blatantly checking me out. I tried to continue my operation secretly, and it turned out to actually be an advantage everyone assumed I was lesbian as I could mark some girls as more possible and cross out the ones being openly hostile towards me. But that did not mean I liked the looks some people gave me; neither the ones that were hostile (though I learned about some people they were pricks where I had never known before), nor did I like the lewd stares some girls gave me when no one else was looking, as they embarrassed me incredibly. I really wanted to get this over with as soon as possible, but right now that reputation was beneficial for me, so I would go along with it until I would find out who she was. At the moment all I could do was narrow down my suspects, and maybe hope for another clue from my "secret admirer" herself.

So I waited.


	7. Found out

**Pansy**

I smirked at the rumors that spread throughout the school. I myself saw Hermione eying some girls more closely than I had thought she would. Maybe she really swung that way? It certainly seemed like it. It was something that made things a lot easier for me. Still, I had no intention of revealing myself just yet. Instead, I sat myself down at my desk and started to write another letter.

_Dear Hermione,_

_I see you are still searching. Do you need a little bit of help? Maybe this can be a hint for you._

I pulled out a hair and lay it down inside the letter. It should be just enough to have her narrowing her circle of would-be "secret admirers" down a bit, but still it would hardly be any good for more than that though, so she would have to stay curious and waiting. Enough for me to reel her in bit by bit, but nothing else.

_Hope this helps a little._

_Love_

_Your secret admirer_

Smirking, I made the usual parchment bird, and watched satisfied as it flew away. She would stay confused, which was good, as I knew it was annoying her more than anything that she could not figure out who her "secret admirer" was for the live of it. And I freely admitted I enjoyed it. Even if I would not be able to complete my plan, I would have had my share of messing with Hermione. Why her? Why not Potter or Weasley? Simply because it was so much more fun to fuck up her ingenious mind. She was way too curious for her own good. Not knowing drove her wild, and I enjoyed every second it got got to use that against her. I smirked. There was no way I was going to lose against Hermione on this matter.

H/P

The next few days went by without any interesting events at all. I noticed Hermione was spending a lot of time in her dorm outside classes (I could tell as she never appeared inside the library and was not on the grounds either) but I figured she would simply be studying for her exams and maybe correcting the lists I simply knew she had made on who her "secret admirer" was. It was actually quite annoying as our meetings for potions project we were still working on were cut short by this. Not that I had wanted them to be longer. Not that I had had the need to remind myself of that. But I had. Just why? It was not like I thought of her as a friend, annoying know-it-all mudblood that she was. As I had no idea as to why, I simply brushed it off. There was no need to ponder about things I did not have an answer to.

H/P

I should have known that the quiet before the storm was never a good sign. The storm appeared in the person of Miss Hermione Granger the next day. We met up for our potions project just as we had done quite often the previous weeks. She sat down at the desk calm and serene as always, but I could tell it was something she really was only on the outside, not on the inside. Inside, I saw her seething with rage. Not good. I just hoped her anger was not directed at me. No such luck.

"So, what's the thing with the letters?", she asked calmly, way too calmly. I gulped. "To believe you could actually be friendly towards me", she said, a little bit bitter, I believed to hear, but it was quickly drowned out by the growing anger in her voice. "What a fool I was, thinking you were my friend! Instead you were just pulling off another one of your pranks. You know, I've had it with you, and if I ever see you again and there's none of the teachers around, I guarantee for nothing."

With that said, she left the room, still fuming. I assumed she had had a hard time not hitting or hexing me. I should have been happy, really. I had gotten away without a scratch, I had managed to confuse and annoy her and break her and Weasley apart (though I had the feeling that break up would have been inevitable anyways), but still all I felt was hollow.

**Hermione**

I had been so excited to find out who my so called "secret admirer" was. She obviously had not thought about the fact that a single hair was enough to polyjuice myself into the person it previously belonged to. It was my chance to turn tables on her and confront her on this. I had not even thought about anything but a friendly chat on the matter. I was, after all, quite flattered that someone took such an interest in me. However, all of this disappeared when I took a look in the mirror after my transformation was complete. It simply made too much sense. I had not thought about anyone pulling a prank off on me by sending those letters before, but now it simply made too much sense. How she had acted towards Ron, all the while being nice to me while still being relatively the same around others. All of this started around the time the first of the letters arrived. Of course, it could have been the result of a suddenly appearing infatuation, but I really doubted that. This was Pansy Parkinson, after all. Pansy sodding Parkinson, who I had actually grown to like the past weeks. Whom I thought of as a friend. And losing this friend like this, knowing there never was a true friendship at all, it hurt. All I could do was to avoid breaking down in the next corner crying.

I went back to my dorm like a zombie. I somehow managed to convince Harry and Ron I was simply tired as I passed them on the way, but how I really do not know. When I entered my dorm, I fell down on my bed first thing and cried. I had no idea why it hurt so much. The last time I had been this hurt had been when Ron left me and Harry alone on our search for the horcruxes. I had been beyond devastated that he simply left, after all the years of friendship we had shared. However, I had gotten to (seriously) know Pansy only over the past few weeks, and we had hardly done anything but working on our potions project while chatting together. Why did this hurt so much? Why? Why?

Just as my thoughts were about to drive me completely insane, I finally succumbed to sleep, still dressed in the school uniform I had worn during the day, the questions on my mind still unanswered.


	8. Clear the air

_tru and dollhouse fan: "How did Hermione make Polyjuice potions so quickly? doesn't it take a month make?" You are right, I had not exactly thought of that. Let's just say she bought it somewhere or already had some as an iron ration._

**Pansy**

I sighed. It had been two days now since Hermione and I's friendship broke. It was odd, really, if you thought about it. Before our fight I would not even have thought about us as friends, but now I missed the friendship we had had. Maybe it was because I did not have many friends at Hogwarts since the new year started. I had been able to become friends with some of the girls two years below me, but as they were quite a bit younger they were rather immature sometimes. With Hermione it had been something else: Not only was she my age and therefore a much more appropriate conversational partner, but she was also quite similar to me in many things. She was intelligent, witty (though sometimes also extremely annoying in her constant berating), and an overall nice person. Not so similar to me in this point, still. There was something about her that drew me towards her.

H/P

She had avoided me as good as possible, but today we had to meet up for our potions project again. Maybe I could somehow use that opportunity to clean the air a little, maybe even apologize? Certainly not! I was a Parkinson, after all. There was no need for me to apologize to a mudblood. I would simply show my best side. That had to be enough. After all, she did not even know for sure I had been playing a prank on her. Though, I had to admit, I would not go on with my plan and tell her everything in the letters was correct, and then date her, and afterwards drop her. I wanted her to be my friend, so I had to be honest. Maybe I should really just tell her what it really was like? That at first I had intended it to be a nasty joke and lately stepped away from it? I felt slightly lost. I had no idea what to do.

She came around the corner suddenly, startling me out of my thoughts. With a huff, she sat down across from me. She was still angry, and I instantly got the feeling this time it was not something I could play off easily.

"What are you waiting for?", she asked, glaring at me. "Let's get started. And one more thing, Pansy", at this her pupils dilated dangerously, "just shut up." So we worked in silence. Not a silence of the comfortable, but of the oppressive kind. It seemed to hit me with a ton of bricks over and over again. I wanted to say something, anything, whatever I said could not make this worse than that oppressive silence we faced right now, but my pride forbade me. She had told me to shut up, so she had to make the first move, she had to say something first. But she did not, and I did neither. So the silence stayed.

I was, for the first time in my life, truly happy to see Potter. I disliked him because of all the attention he got (Little did I know then he would have been more than happy not to be so famous.), but right now I was glad he came by to ask Hermione for some advice. The silence lifted, and I could add something to what she said to Potter. She was angry at me still, but we talked at least a little bit now. I was happy I had obviously not lost all of the friendship we had built up during the last weeks. She still seemed to like me as a friend, even if she did not trust me anymore.

"Why?"

"What?", I replied, dumbfounded. The question had clearly startled me.

"What did you hope to achieve by sending me those letters and with those… meetings?", she précised, growing slightly red in the process. I did, too, thinking back to our "meetings" as she had called them. A shiver shot up my spine, but I repressed it, and instead answered. I considered briefly telling her it was all true what I had written, then wondered why I even considered it, because if I did that I could not back out any more, then I would lose her friendship completely. And even if I liked Hermione as a friend, I certainly would not want to be in a relationship with her?

Why am I even asking myself that?

I decided to simply tell her the truth. "At first I wanted you to break up with Weasley, then make you fall in love with me, then break your heart. And somewhere along the way we became friends, so…", I smiled a nervous smile, "seems rather silly looking back now." She smiled at me, genuinely for the first time this day. Then a mischievous glint appeared in her eyes, and immediately I knew she was up to something.

"Now was it?" Her smile quickly changed into a smirk. She moved closer to me, running her hand up my tight. I did my best to repress the shiver that rippled through my body, but she noticed anyways. Her smirk intensified. "It seems you like the idea quite a bit, Pansy", she purred into my ear. "Aren't you?" She quirked an eyebrow at me. Then she turned around, leaving the library silently, as if nothing had happened.

I took a few deep breaths to calm my raging heartbeat down. She was wrong of course. It meant nothing. I could still feel her hand on my tight, sending small earthquakes through my body. But it meant nothing.

'Yeah, right, keep telling yourself that.'

**Hermione**

I grinned towards myself as I left the library. It was nice to see that I could intimidate Pansy just as much as she could intimidate me. I knew right now that everything would be okay between the two of us. Even though Pansy had not exactly excused herself, I held not that big a grudge against her. I was not pleased by her behavior, sure, but that was just her. We would stay friends, and I would even be able to trust her again, like I had. How weird that sounded, looking back. A year ago, or even two months, I never would have thought of Pansy as trustable, but now not so much. I realized that indeed I already trusted her, despite the letters. I could not even really explain why, I just did. Maybe it was because of how she acted towards me outside class and away from the others. While at first she had been forcing herself to be nice to me (yes, I had noticed), later she had opened up a bit. She had started her teasing again, but while some while ago it would have been with the intention of hurting me, now it was nothing more but a bit of playful banter.

"Penny for your thoughts", Harry said. I flinched. I had not heard him approaching me at all, and during our flight from the death eaters my senses had certainly keened. A clear sign I had been in deep thought.

"Oh… nothing particular", I said. A blatant lie, that much was clear. I had definitely been thinking about something, namely my friendship with Pansy. A friendship that everybody but the two of us was oblivious to, it seemed. Harry of course saw that I was lying directly. We had been friends for years now, after all.

"Come on, Hermione, I know you're thinking about something. Is it your new crush? Who are they, anyways?", he asked curiously. I was glad I was not eating anything, or else I would have choked on it.

"What? I haven't crushed on anybody", I said, surprise evident in my voice. Not so evident though, obviously, that he could not think I was faking my surprise and interpret it as shock.

"You are telling me that you're spacing out all the time for no reason? You've been moping around the last few days, and now you're grinning like a Cheshire cat. You get all moody on us, and now suddenly everything is peachy again. Honestly! Even Ron noticed!" He laughed. "I can wait. But when you get them", he paused for a moment, "or have you already? Anyways, when you're together with whoever they are tell me." He smiled at me reassuringly, then walked off, leaving me alone to sort out my thoughts.

Why had he said what he had said? I could not come up with a reason. I had been thinking about Pansy, nobody else. Surely I did not act like a lovesick teenager because of her. Or did I?


	9. Lust

**Pansy**

Soon after, the potions project ended, which really was kind of a problem, as it had been my reason to meet up with Hermione, and vice-versa. We had already agreed on meeting still further down the line, but, as we just as well did not want anybody to know about our friendship due to the usual complications any contact between Gryffindors and Slytherins brought with it, we had agreed to meeting up after curfew, as we both were prefects and were supposed to be outside our dorms and out in the hallways.

Or maybe I had rather wanted to meet her there because of the prospect to drag her into some dark corner at night and snog her senseless? I quickly shrugged the thought off. Thoughts like that one had been circling through my brain a lot over the last few weeks. I had not been exactly shocked, but definitely taken aback by this realization. I liked her, maybe a little bit more than I should as a friend. I had always thought of myself as straight, and my family would most likely disown me for both being a lesbian and liking a mudblood if they knew, but honestly that prospect left me totally unfazed. I had been losing touch with my family for years now as they were really fascinated by Voldemort whereas I had merely supported him whenever it would have hurt me or someone else had I not, so severing the last few strings was not that much of a problem for me.

That did not mean, though, that I wanted to tell her I fancied her. I had most likely destroyed all of my chances in before by meddling with her mind so much, so I had my hopes not too high, and I did not want to destroy my friendship with her. Now I felt slightly at a loss what to do now that we would meet up in the hallways in the dark. I could try to act like nothing was up, but I was not very good at that (pathetic for a Slytherin, I know). I certainly did not want to tell the truth. Maybe I could hint a little bit?

H/P

I walked down the hallways on my usual patrol through Hogwarts. I had told Hermione I would be on my typical route, so, as we had agreed to me up at 11 o'clock, she should be here any moment now. Of course, it could be something had come in her way, but I doubted that.

Just as predicted Hermione showed up a couple of minutes later. But she seemed dazed as she walked towards me, as if she had taken drugs or been charmed or something. Odd.

**Ginny**

When Hermione had ceased to talk about her love life altogether and given me only half cooked answers when I asked her about it, I was sure something was up. That was exactly why I was walking down the hallway under the cover of Harry's invisibility cloak in the middle of the night, following my friend. I really wanted to know where she would go now. Whatever the result, it would certainly be a lot better than having her simply mope around thinking about some crush all day. Which was just the reason why I had put something in her drink at dinner this evening.

Okay, so I was not totally sure what the effects of a combination of a love potion and veritaserum would be, but I knew from George ( who had been all ears for my plan) that it indeed made someone run to someone they truly loved and get all mushy. Or as he had liked to add, all down and dirty. That was an idea that did not appeal too much to me, but that was why I was following her. And my goddamn curiosity.

**Pansy**

I could hardly utter a word before Hermione's lips came crushing down on mine. She was kissing me! Why on earth was she kissing me? I tried not to elaborate the thought any further, but instead began responding to her immediately. If I had thought it would feel good to kiss her, that was nothing compared to the real thing. Other than before where she had been unawares and not sure who I was, now she was kissing me with a fire I had thought impossible to burn inside the normally sensible brunette. It took me no time to get aroused and I would most certainly have continued this further, had not a strangled gasp that was neither mine nor Hermione's brought me back into reality.

Sad as it was, reality consisted of the fact that Hermione was most likely influenced in some way of another, though I wanted to believe otherwise. Breaking the kiss even against the muffled protest from Hermione, I called out into the room:

"Accio invisibility cloak."

It was the only way whoever was out there could have stayed hidden. The fabric came sailing over to me, revealing the youngest Weasley to me. She looked over at me in complete and utter shock.

"As much as I enjoy this, do you have any idea whatsoever to turn Hermione back to normal?", I asked her dryly, repressing a hiss as Hermione's hand started to squeeze my left breast. "Hands off, girl", I told her in a stern voice, hoping she would get the hint. Hermione pouted slightly, but let go. I let out a sigh of relief that she let go, because I honestly did not know whether I would have been able to control myself had she simply continued what she was doing.

"Now, care to enlighten me why Hermione suddenly tries to ravish me?", I asked Weasley, not very kindly, but I could not say I was delighted somebody messed with her head like this (other than me).

"Just… just a little love potion combined with veritaserum", she answered with a slight stutter.

"Come on, Pansy, stop talking", Hermione whined. Then, dropping her voice to a low, seductive tone, she added: "We could do so much more", while dragging her nails down my back. This time I could not suppress a shiver running down the length of my spine.

"You're sure it was not a lust potion?", I asked Weasley, before I realized something. "You asked that brother of you, George, didn't you?" I already knew the answer.

"Yes. I used a potion named sitis maxima." I groaned. With my knowledge of Latin I could easily translate it into 'greatest lust'. Plus, I knew that potion. I knew that there were two options to end the effect the potion had on Hermione. One was a complex antidote I could only hope the school had in store as it needed some time to brew. The other option was to simply let her have her way, but that was something I most certainly would not do.

"Get Slughorn", I told Weasley.

"But if I do, I will get detention." Now that was the last of my worries.

"Get him. Or to you want her to do something she'll most likely regret the next day?" I hissed, this time audibly, as Hermione drove her leg between mine. It was getting increasingly harder to resist. "Don't, Hermione." I almost pleaded. Finally seeing the risks of the situation, Weasley ran off to wake Slughorn, leaving me and Hermione behind.

"I want you, Pansy", she said in a breathless whisper.

"Not now, later", I promised her trying to reassure her and make her keep her hands to herself. Did Weasley really say she had added veritaserum to the mix? I felt a sudden rush of longing surge through my veins and all I could do was tell myself over and over that I did not know whether she really wanted to act upon her wants and that if so, she would most certainly not want to have her first time all drugged. Still it was getting increasingly harder, and I really hoped that Weasley and Slughorn would finally appear.


	10. Tease

„Miss Parkinson", a panting Slughorn said as he reached the hallway were I still stood, a rather clingy Hermione attached to my waist. At least she had managed to keep her hands to herself while waiting. "I got the antidote here." He handed me a small viol. I smiled at him gratefully.

"Thanks." Turning back to Hermione I said: "Here, drink this. As soon as you have, were gonna continue." As expected she practically snatched the viol out of my hand and emptied it in a second. Almost instantly her expression changed and she immediately jumped back from where she had stood. She had finally realized what she was doing. Thus the time for me had come to tease her mercilessly.

"Didn't know you were such a devil in the sack", I said, smirking at her. "I know I'm hard to resist, but no one has ever been so eager to bed me." If she had been flustered in before, it was nothing compared to now. She was in a state where she was going to stutter, I just knew.

"I… I don't know what you're talking about", she said, but her crimson face told a different story. And I just knew it was true, as there had been veritaserum combined with the lust potion. I knew she wanted to jump my bones. The lust potion had done nothing but to amplify the already existent feelings and made her act on them.

I lifted her chin up to look her in the eyes. "You're a bad liar." I grinned at her before pulling her back in, kissing her. I could feel her responding for a moment until she pulled back and slapped me straight across the face.

"You're impossible", she said with a huff. For a moment I regretted my previous move. Now I had blown it. She was going to walk away and be angry at me again, but this time it would be a hell of a lot more awkward to put our friendship back together. I was just going to apologize, something I rarely did, when she grabbed my hair and yanked me me over to her, kissing me hard. I could feel all the emotions roaring through her, love, lust, anger, embarrassment, longing. She was not gentle like I had expected her to be, she was demanding. And I was more than willing to fulfill all the demands hidden behind that kiss.

It was Ginny's voice that rose us both from the kiss. "Somebody care to explain to me what's going on here?"

**Hermione**

My face had burned bright from embarrassment, but as I kissed Pansy all of that had vanished in the heat of desire that surged through my body. When I realized that Ginny and Slughorn were still in the room, it came all rushing back. A hot blush swept across my face as I loosened my grip on Pansy. Slughorn quickly disappeared with a mumbled goodbye, apparently uncomfortable with seeing two of his students making out in front of him. Ginny however still looked at me quizzically.

"Ahm…" I honestly had no idea how to answer her question.

Pansy strolled over to us, grinning like a Cheshire cat. "We were going to get laid, wasn't that obvious, Weasley?", she asked. I grew even redder.

"Pansy", I growled at her, but she paid my warning no heed. Instead she whispered into my ear, loud enough for Ginny to hear. "I bet you like it rough. I bet I can make you scream my name when I…"

"You like to be hit, don't you", I interrupted her, threatening.

I had never seen Pansy blush like this before, but now she blushed a bright crimson. It took me a moment to understand why she blushed, until the picture she seemed to see in her mind reached me too. I had never been into spanking, but suddenly it seemed quite appealing.

It seemed to have reached Ginny's mind too, because she suddenly became almost hectic.

"You know what, I'll leave you two alone to whatever you two wanna do, but please go somewhere I can't hear you" she said before rushing out of the hallway and up to the Gryffindor dorms with the invisibility cloak in tow.

Great. Now my best female friend thought I am a pervert. I felt like snapping at Pansy, until I felt her hands around my neck and she pulled me close and kissed me, not heated or passionate, but soft and gentle. What I felt was Pansy who did want more than just getting me naked, but a girl who wanted to stick by me no matter the consequences. I almost melted into her arms. She began to stroke my hair softly while slowly drawing circles on my back with her other hand. I suddenly felt very relaxed. She slowly moved down, sucking on my pulse point for a long time before letting go.

"So, what we're gonna do now?", she said with a slight smirk, wiggling her eyebrows at me.

"Oh no, you don't", I said, knowing full well that her mind had once again taken the road towards naughtier lands. "Later", I promised with a smile at her pout.

"So you're gonna leave me here all hot and bothered? You're such a bad tease", she said, grinning, knowing that I just had to think of how turned on she was. Shaking my head I gave her a light shove towards her dorms. "Go, before I decide I have to take you right here and now."

She only grinned at that. "Is that a promise?"

"Go", I said once again, finding it increasingly harder to resist her offer. Then I turned around and hastened back to the dorms before she could pull off another attempt to seduce me.

H/P

"Hippogriff", I murmured absentmindedly to the fat lady as I walked past the portrait into the Gryffindor dorm. My thoughts were, despite my best efforts to change that, still firmly on my girl. That was what she was, was she not? I was not entirely sure whether she was my girlfriend now or not. Technically, all we had done was kiss. That did not have to mean anything. Maybe she just thought it was fun to mess with my mind. She had done that in before, after all. But somehow I could sense she was serious, that she would not risk our friendship for the fleeting pleasure of messing around with me.

"Hermione", Harry's voice woke me from my thoughts. "You might want to cover that hickey", he said, pointing at my neck. I blushed when I noticed the big hickey that undoubtedly came from my little make out session with Pansy earlier. "You really don't want Ron to throw a jealous fit. He still is head over heels for you, poor guy." I quickly reached out for my scarf to pull it higher around my neck, effectively covering the hickey.

"Now where did you get that one?", he asked curiously. "Is that the reason Ginny came running in here a few moments ago, looking like she had seen a ghost? Has she caught you red handed or what?"

"More like made me red handed", I said with a low growl. I had not forgiven Ginny for pulling off the number with the potion on me, even though I had to say I kind of liked the aftereffects. I had still been embarrassing, especially in front of her and Slughorn. "Tell her to stay out of my reach until she excused herself to me for what she did."

Harry looked at me quizzically. "What did she do?"

"She kind of drugged me with a lust potion combined with some veritaserum. Embarrassing, to say the least, especially since she did not even think of an antidote. In the end, Slughorn too saw me getting all needy." I covered my face in embarrassment as I realized I would not be able to look my teacher in the eyes for what was most likely weeks, if not more.

"Is it too much to ask who it was, and how he reacted?", Harry asked. Obviously, I had his curiosity piqued.

"Promise not to tell anybody, and that you'll be my friend no matter what", I told him, my gaze drilling into his eyes.

"I do. As long as it ain't Malfoy or one of his peers", Harry said, jokingly, but I felt a weight sink down on my shoulders at those words. I just really hoped he would not heed what he had said and really cease being my friend when I told him. I sighed.

"You're not making this any easier for me, you know", I muttered, not looking at him.

"You're with Malfoy?", Harry asked, clearly shocked. "But how? He is not at the school, and neither are any of his peers."

"I'm not with Malfoy!", I stated directly. I sincerely doubted anyone could stand being with that sissy except himself. "And it's not true that none of his gang are here."

"But there are no male Slytherins in our year", Harry mused, before his pupils dilated in realization. "I thought it was just rumor that had it you were into girls", he said surprised. He definitely knew who it was now.

"When it came up it was", I answered the unspoken question, "but things changed in between."

"Oh", he muttered, then looked up at me, smiling. "Anyways, I am happy you found someone."

I let out a breath I had not realized I had been holding. I was so glad he was happy for me rather that calling off our friendship or something. "And you're okay with this?", I asked. I had to be sure. "She was, after all, the girl who demanded you had to be handed over to Voldemort during the final battle."

He simply smiled. "Well, she simply demanded something I later did myself. So, no bad blood."

I smiled, too. "Did I ever tell you you're an amazing friend, Harry? If not, I do so now." And with that, I hugged him tightly, before walking up the stairs to the head girls room with the strength of the support of my best friend easing my step.


End file.
